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Can my niece sue the third party involved in an accident for the value of her car?

My niece has been involved in an accident. The other party admitted to the police at the scene that it was her fault, but her insurance company has yet to admit liability. In the meantime my niece's insurance company has written off her car and made an offer. We are not happy with the offer (whoever is?) and are considering going to the Financial Services Ombudsman.

Asked on 20 July 2013 by GM, Redruth

Answered by Honest John
If the car was worth less than £10,000 go straight to www.moneyclaim.gov.uk and sue the other party directly for the substantiated value of the car. To substantiate its value you will need copies of both dealer and private advertisements for the same car. The insurance 'value' is not dealer retail, it is 'market value', which lies somewhere between trade price and private sale price, not dealer retail price which implies the betterment of a dealer warranty.

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